(Yicai Global) April 24 -- Tinci Materials Technology Co., the world’s largest producer of battery electrolytes, has taken another step its assault on China’s new energy vehicle market with plans for a unit to build a CNY282 million (USD44.7 million) ternary lithium battery plant.

Jiujiang Tinci Mining Co. will take a year to build the facility in Jiujiang in China’s eastern Jiangxi province, Guangzhou-based Tinci Materials said in a statement. Once operational, the plant will produce 150,000 tons of lithium a year.

The investment marks Tinci Materials’ fourth in production and raw materials procurement in the past six months as the firm looks to cement its position in the market. Previous investment includes USD25 Million on a lithium electrolyte project in eastern Anhui province, and USD200 million on lithium ore supplies from Australia's Sinosteel Australia Pty Ltd. Tinci Materials will use lithium from the latter contract as a raw material at the new Jiujiang factory.

China has an increasing thirst for ternary lithium batteries for use in the world’s biggest NEV market. Some 605,500 plug-in passenger cars were sold in the country last year. China accounted for almost half of the global market and grew 30 times faster than the world average, data from industry researcher EV Volumes shows.

Tinci Materials will use some two million tons of spodumene, a source of lithium, in processing during the Jiujiang plant's first phase, while details of the second phase will be determined later, it said.